Arbeitsblatt: Australia - basic information

Australia Australia is an island – and continent. It is just little smaller than the United States of America. The first people to live there were Aboriginies. Their ancestors probably lived there for some 40,000 years before European settlement started in the late 18th century. In 1770, James Cook discovered the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. Cook discoveries prepared the way for establishment of new penal colony. In 1787, the First Fleet of the British Navy (Marine) set sail for New South Wales and Botany Bay. On board one of the 11 ships was the new governor of the area, Arthur Phillip. Several other ships carried 736 prisoners, including 192 females. On the remaining ships were several hundred settlers, ready to make new life in new world. When he landed in New South Wales Philipp decided not to build new settlement in Botany Bay. He started small settlement at Port Jackson which grew eventually into present-day Sydney. Today, threequarters of Australias population of 18 million have British ancestors but less than two per cent are Aboriginal. Nowadays, new Australian can look Vietnamese, Greek, Filipino, German, Malaysian or Italian. Each nationality has brought its own culture, traditions and cuisine down under. Australia is constitutional democracy. This means, the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, appoints the governor-general. His position is similar to head of State. But Australia, also has its own parliament and government which is elected by the Australian people. Australia today is the most important economic and political power in the South Pacific region. The country has great many natural resources and mining is an important industry – particularly coal, copper and uranium. Farming and forestry are also very important. The climate ranges from tropical to temperate and very dry: there are huge desert areas in the centre of Australia. Australian seasons in the temperate area are really back-to-front for Europeans. Christmas in the summer, Wimbledon in the winter and skiing in June. The wildlife and vegetation are unique. Nowhere else can you find kangoroos, koalas and kookaburras. Different kinds of gum tress (eucalyptus) are everywhere. Aussies are outdoor people – they enjoy sports and many great athletes come from Australia. Tennis, golf, cricket, but particularly water sports are great favourites. This is not very surprising when you consider that 80 per cent of Aussies live less than 10 miles away from the coast. Tasks: 1.) Use the information from the text to build your mindmap about Australia. You can start like this: